"There is no end to self-knowledge."

The Journey Continues – The Curiosity of Past Lives

My thoughts often travel a path of “word association”. By that, I mean that one thought can lead to another and another and another. The recent happenings in my life have caused that to happen rather frequently. Sometimes, it takes me on the most curious journeys to some of the strangest places.

I’ve spoken of reincarnation before, to some extent, and how it is a belief of Wicca. We believe that the energy that is truly us – call it “spirit” or “soul” or something else – inhabits body after body until we have learned all that is necessary for us to return “home”. We believe that we are sparks of the Creative Force that has sent us into the physical realms to learn more about Itself through the choices we make in any given circumstance. We believe that is the purpose of “free will” – to make those choices in order to learn through experience.

Many have wondered why we don’t remember those past lives. Although this is not totally true, for most it is the reality of this existence. Why? There have been those who have theorized that not remembering allows us a fairly “clean slate” as far as experiencing life from a new, fresh perspective. Without the preconceived notions of previous incarnations, we have the opportunity to take life on with awe and wonder – to make the most of it.

There are those, like me, who are forever curious. We purposely have sought to remember who we may have been before, where and when we may have lived and who, in this life, we may have known before. Like others, I have used trance, hypnosis regression and even the help of psychics to scratch the “itch” of curiosity.

Have you ever wondered who you might have been? Who around you now might have been known to you in another lifetime? Have you ever experienced déjà vu for no apparent reason? Or, even more interesting, had a flashback or, as I like to call them, a “movie trailer” of a past life?

Although I had been interested in the occult from a very young age, it was in my 20s that I really began to read and research many of the subjects that fall under its heading. It was a natural progression for me to go from an interest in ghosts to seances, mediums and the spirits that appear during these events to what happens after death to, finally, reincarnation.

It used to be quite fashionable to believe you had been someone famous in a past life – Cleopatra, Napoleon, etc., but I never believed that. For me, it was a curiosity with what I may have learned then and where I learned it. As I opened myself up to these possibilities, it was interesting that I could never really “force” a past life to reveal itself – not through meditation or trance or even hypnosis. I’m not sure if I had purposely created this circumstance before entering this incarnation or if a “higher” power was making sure that I “played by the rules”.

I did begin to recognize two things that helped quiet that nagging curiosity. The first was that, after the completion of a situation involving a particular person or group of people, I would have a “movie trailer” moment. In that moment, I would see what the previous circumstance had been, where it happened and who was involved. An example of this was when I met my first husband. It was the Summer before sophomore year in high school. It was supposed to be a blind date set up by my best friend’s boyfriend with his best friend. Unfortunately, that friend already had a date, so I was at the drive-in with my best friend and her boyfriend and no date! At intermission, Steve (my friend’s boyfriend) brought John (the blind date) over to the car. We talked a little and, when he walked away, I told my friend, “I’m going to marry him.” What??? I wasn’t sure why I had even said that. Long story short – I did end up marrying him…and divorcing him. It was years later that I had a flash that showed that, when I had lived a previous life in Persia, he and I had been in love, but could never marry because of an arranged marriage my father had made for me with another young man. I committed suicide rather than not be allowed to marry who I loved. Interesting, huh? I waited lifetimes to marry him and then found out it was a mistake!

That kind of thing happens often for me. At the time something is happening, I have no clue why. When it reaches its end, it’s very likely the “screen” will pop on and I will see a “clip” explaining it all.

The second thing that I’ve come to recognize is that, often when I’m attracted to a particular culture, I have lived a past life there. This is true for my fascination with Atlantis, Egypt, Persia, China and even the Aztec and Mayan cultures. There are probably others, but these are the ones I have had a little verification for my interest in them.

Einstein said everything is energy and energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. Why then should it be such a hard leap of faith and belief to recognize that this holds true for us as well? The principle of reincarnation is simply stating that the part of us that inhabits this flesh and blood body continues on and is transformed, not only by each life experience, but by re-entering this physical realm through the habitation of a new body and new life. We continue to do this until we have reached a place where we have once more raised our vibrations to that of the Source from which we came. I find that thrilling and extremely hopeful. It also peaks my curiosity as to what that would be like…to return “home”, I mean.

May your journey though this lifetime be one where you allow your curiosity to take you to places you’ve never been and learn things that take your breath away!